The green energy industry has been the subject of immense interest, particularly as oil prices reached new heights in both level and volatility and as climate-related concerns began to influence the public discourse and policy. As the promise of green energy has come into focus and new projects have been proposed, interest from capital markets resulted in substantial flows of investment into the sector. At the same time, the policy debate has become sharper and some concerns with increased biofuel production have come to the fore. For example, the debate on food versus fuel has made it obvious that first generation biofuels derived from food crops (such as corn and soy beans) generate critical trade-offs and do not deserve government subsidies for increased biofuel production.

Kijani Energy believes that, as the industry begins to take shape, it is necessary for industry participants to provide concrete thought leadership. Our goal is to contribute to the public debate in a way that helps to ensure that the potential of biofuels is harnessed in a manner that is safe, sustainable and ethical. Through this website and our participation in public fora, we intend to share and discuss our ideas on issues of policy, implementation and sustainability. From time to time, we will post additional notes and conference presentations.

Our premise is that biofuels present a truly triple bottom-line solution to three distinct but related issues: energy security, climate change and poverty alleviation. Specifically, we believe that Jatroha is the second generation energy crop of choice because it is: (i) a non-food crop; (ii) the low-cost option; (iii) a low-input crop, and (iv) likely a carbon-negative solution. Moreover, Jatropha remains essentially a wild plant and intensive research will almost certainly increase substantially its yield and productivity over the medium-term. With the rapid increase in diesel light vehicles around the world and with transportation being the leading sector in terms of energy demand and emissions, Jatropha-based biodiesel will make a significant contribution to global concerns on energy supply and climate change.